I Just Want to Live Here For a Second
by stelena1981
Summary: It doesn't matter how far away from each other they are/It doesn't matter if they've decided to let each other go/The heart wants what the heart wants. And that is all.


The first thing they did when they arrived at the cabin was to turn off their phones.

Neither wanted to be distracted from the achievement of having pulled together one full day and night to celebrate their one year anniversary. They had a little over 24 hours to celebrate before they had to return to the real world and be present for the first day of school. Somehow they both made executive decisions that while the Big Bads were still coming after them, they could wait to attack until tomorrow.

Today was for them. I mean, how often is it that you meet the love of your life popping out of the men's restroom just after having read the riot act to your immature, emo little brother?

No explanations to anyone. They left a note on the Gilbert kitchen island saying they'd be back tomorrow morning and not to call them. Elena's handwriting wrote around Stefan's, "Seriously, Damon. We'll be back tomorrow."

"Well played," he said as he watched her write.

She kissed his cheek in response. "Let's go."

The last few weeks had been crazy—they sat in strategy meetings with their friends for hours at a time planning how to defeat the Originals. They couldn't even get to do anything grand and celebratory for Elena's birthday, although they tried.

Lately, after they would return home from the meetings and crisis (it honestly could mean her house or his—the distinction became blurred), they'd brush their teeth, change into their pajamas and crash onto the bed intertwined in one another.

This routine had gone on for a little over six days. Six days without any intimate contact. At all. A few kisses here and there. They would try to catch a moment in the shower but every time they'd try, the phone would ring. As if the phone knew they were aching for each other and needed release and wanted to punish them for being horny.

Hence, the decision to turn off the evil phones.

8:30 am  
>They made it about ten miles outside of Mystic Falls before Elena whispered in Stefan's ear something terribly dirty that forced him to pull the car over. As soon as he moved the gear into park, Elena was moving over to him and lifting herself so he could pull down her panties—thank God she wore her cute super short denim skirt—and he could unzip his fly and pull his erect member out of his jeans to move inside her.<p>

At the first connection, they both sighed in relief and pleasure. Elena was grateful that Stefan picked a good isolated area because she moaned so loudly she worried the animals would come after her. She moved on him aggressively, meeting every thrust with her own, nothing but the harsh sounds of their breathing in their ears. Elena's crucial moment came and then came again and again and again.

At some point, they did need to arrive at the cabin after all. She slid off of him and in perfect mimetic fashion, both of them laid back on the seat exhausted.  
>Stefan tucked himself back into his jeans while Elena tugged her skirt back down but left herself commando. She knew that Stefan could smell her scent and reveled in the knowledge that he might not be able to control himself for much longer.<p>

In record timing they arrived at the lakehouse. And right after they closed the front door and turned off their cellphones, they continued where they left off in the car. That was 10 am.

By 1 o'clock, and after multiple sets of multiple orgasms and sleep and more orgasms, Elena's stomach wouldn't let her continue to tease Stefan as she had been doing for the last half hour. The grumble made her hide her face in his chest but made him smile. He loved her humanity. Actually he just loved her.

She got up and slid on her yoga pants and his t-shirt and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Before she made it into the galley of the kitchen, Stefan already stood waiting for her in front of the refrigerator in just his jeans. She smiled at him.

"I thought you were gonna stay in bed upstairs."

"Never said that. You assumed."

"You're right. I did," she responded coyly moving over to him and placing her hands on either side of his hips where his pelvic bones showed above his low slung jeans. She caressed his sides and let her fingertips trail down to the middle watching Stefan watch her as his head leaned back against the refrigerator door.

"I thought you were hungry."

"I am."

"For food."

"Yes. But you're standing right here. Blocking my path. What else am I to do but take advantage?"

He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck, gently kissing her throat up to her jawline. "Do. You. Want. Me. To (long kiss there) make you something?"

"Uh huh." Elena kisses him and then pulls away watching as he tries to move toward her to kiss her again but is eluded by her quick reaction times.

She caresses his face and kisses him deeply. And then she slaps him on the ass.

"Get to work. I'm starving." And Elena smiles and turns toward the living room giving him a show with the way she moved her hips as she walked away.

"God she's going to kill me," Stefan whispers to himself.

4 pm:   
>He lets her slide down the wall in her parents bedroom closet. They just finished making love on the opposite side of the "hollow wall." Elena was nervous there'd be another secret room that would distract Stefan from her like last time.<p>

Fortunately, the Gilberts didn't have any more secret rooms. In her parents bedroom at least.

They both slide to the floor of the closet, still making out, tongues dueling and landing in a heap of limbs next to Elena's mom's favorite pair of sneakers.

"I can't believe we just did that in my parents room. What's next? A church?"

"Stranger things have happened."

She gently slaps his arm. "Stefan"!

"Kidding. Kinda."

"So what are we doing in preparation on the eve of our anniversary"? Elena asked looking up at him and gazing at how beautiful he looked and how often his eyes changed color. Blue to green to brown to blue again.

He looked puzzled. "Um, more of this please?"

"Aren't you pleasantly numb?"

"No, Buffy. I'm mildly appeased."

Elena laughed and pushed him a little. "I love you more than Angel. And I want to do more of this. But I also just wanna do something that just…is us."

She watches him as he formulates a plan. Couldn't help herself but to run her fingertips across his temple as she observed the wheels turning in his head. "Take a shower and get dressed. I've got an idea."

"But that means we have to leave this wall and this…us."

"You wanted to do something that wasn't this."

"I know but…"

"No buts. Up and in the shower. Before I change my mind."

9 pm:  
>"I'm so glad we came up here for the night. Stefan, I just love you so much. I really, really do. And I love how anxious you get when I've had too many drinks. Like now. I've had one, two, three, five beers and I could see you wanting to take my glass away. I wasn't gonna let you. How many times do we get to loosen up like this? Just be a couple? A teenage girl and her teenage boyfriend illegally drinking alcohol and shacking up together at her dead parents lakehouse for their anniversary."<p>

Stefan listened to her continue her drunken speech and realized how happy he was. It was not very often that he took stock of his feelings as usually they were overwhelmed with guilt and remorse. But today he noticed happiness. And he knew the reason for it: it mostly lie with the girl standing next to him still giving a drunk speech.

Not that Stefan was totally sober himself. A few degrees better than her but not by much.

"You're right. I do love you and I was gonna take your glass away. And you're a lightweight, honey. You've only had 2 beers."

"And a shot of tequila!"

"And…a shot of tequila."

"Now take it back. I'm not a lightweight. I'm just a happy drunk."

"Never. But I love you happy drunk."

They drink beer and play pool and when not managing to actually get the balls in the hole they get handsy. Touchy. And they can't stop kissing each other. Or grabbing the others ass.

People around the bar watched the couple who were perfectly content to only stand next to each other and flirt, make out and occasionally play pool. The intimacy and familiarity between them was palpable. As was the protectiveness. These town folk knew it was best to leave them alone.

"So what do I get if I win"? Stefan asked continually depleting the balls on the table.

"Aside from my unending love and adoration"? Elena asked placing her hands on his shoulders as she stood behind him and leaned over him to make sure he heard her.

"Yes. That's a given. I am the man of your dreams. I've saved your life more times than you can remember. You owe me at least unending love and adoration," Stefan deadpanned.

"I've saved your life a few times Stefan. Nobody likes a bragger," Elena replied in false sarcasm.

"Just words. But seriously, what do I get if I win this round"?

Elena slid her hands from his shoulders and down the sides of his torso, making her way into the front pockets of his jeans. And she whispered something that nearly gave him an aneurysm.

"I'd get all of that"? he asked, shocked and totally turned on.

"Yep. All of it."

Before she knew what was happening, he had his pool cue move all the balls in their pockets, whisked her out of the bar and to the car.

11:30 pm:

Sex sounds permeate their bedroom as the candles Stefan lit throughout the space provide the only illumination. Elena's deep sighs and gasps as Stefan continues to thrust into her. Stefan's grunts and groans and deep intakes of breath as Elena pushes back against him or clenches him with her inner muscles almost forcing him to cross his eyes in pleasure. They kiss and kiss and Elena wraps her feet around his ass, effectively knotting herself to her body so that he could move deeper inside her. The sweat on both their faces is in their hair, covering their bodies. Elena grips his hand with her right hand and clings to it to fight for sanity as her third orgasm of this round overtakes her. Stefan continues to push in and rests his head against hers.

"Oh God. Oh God. This is so good. You know my body so well. I love you, Stefan. I love you." A strong orgasmic tremor threatens to overpower her but she forces herself to keep her eyes open and focused on his who are taking in everything. The way her lips form the shapes that dictate her next moan, the way her hair has loosely come undone from the ponytail she wore it in and is now clinging to her face, the way her eyes are set so strongly on him. The way her body feels so soft and hard at the same time.

It was the best sensation of his life. His entire life nothing has mattered more than this moment right now.

He continued to fuck her hard and strong and then he stopped.

Elena was entrenched in the sensations that once again were going to overwhelm her when she noticed that although he still was inside her, Stefan wasn't moving.

Catching her breath, she squeezed the hand she was holding and caressed his brow with her other hand. "What's wrong"? she asked smiling at him and gazing into his eyes as a way of checking to make sure he was telling her the truth.

He looked back at her and caressed her cheek, a slight smile crossing his lips. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I…I..." his shyness overtakes him and he leans down to her chest, hiding his face.

She laughed at his nervousness. "Stefan, don't hide from me. What is it"?

He lifts his head up and she runs her fingers through his hair, staring at him and hoping he saw how deeply she loved him. "What is it"?  
>"I….I… (Sighs) I just want to live here for a second. That's all."<p>

Elena tried to not be one of those girls who cried at sappy things; she had been through enough in the last year to make her the poster child of criers the world round, yet she rarely allowed herself the luxury.

But Stefan's words-so simple, so full of emotion, so loaded with the past, the present and their future-caught her unawares. Her eyes watered and her smile followed. She couldn't say anything for fear that in the moment that he had told her something so intimate while still being inside her, she'd turn into a blubbery mess.

Instead, she just waited and continued to gaze at him. He saw the change in her eyes and couldn't help but watch as she took in what he said to her. They had made love hundreds of times, always making them closer and always wonderful. Maybe he was feeling sentimental because in a few short minutes, they'd be celebrating one year together.

Maybe his old age was catching up with him.

But he swore he had never felt more safe or more wanted or more loved or more respected than he had in those moments with this girl.

"I love you Lena." And he shallowly thrust into her causing her eyes to close in sensation. "I love you." He pushes against her. And he picks up a rhythm and it's new and old and Elena can't stop moaning and gasping and telling him "yes" and she wraps her arms around him tight and her legs around his waist and pushes herself as closely to him as she can and they both groan and desperately cling to the other.

Elena used her leverage to turn them over and moved against him with deliberate speed and finesse. Stefan puts his arms behind his head and watches her ride him. He can tell she's very, very close to finishing (as is he) when she lowers her face to his to kiss him and it mimics their body movements.

And then the moment is upon her and her hips continue to move against Stefan's and he comes shortly after with a shout so loud he is sure someone in the next town heard him. The after quakes make her shake against him.

They're still kissing, wet and sloppy and open mouthed and they break apart to breathe and Elena leans her forehead against his and smiles.

"I love you too. So much. (a beat) Happy Anniversary, Stefan."

"Happy Anniversary, Elena."

3 am: 

" never told me you compelled the school secretary! But I do remember checking out a young man who was talking to Mrs. Davis. Bonnie and I both agreed he had a lovely back. By the way, Mrs. Davis is a lovely woman."

"She absolutely is. But she needed immunization forms. There was no such thing in 1864. I came up with the next best option."

"Hmm…well, I guess in the larger scheme of things, if you hadn't convinced Mrs. Davis to see forms that weren't there, you would have never caught me coming out of the boys bathroom."  
>"I'm sure I would have caught you coming out of something. And you like my back? Is that girl code?"<p>

"First rule of girl code: we never tell. God (she laughs), I was so embarrassed that this really cute guy I had never met before had just seen me come out of the mens room. No greater mortification."

"Oh come on. You forget I saw you sitting all maudlin like in a cemetery."

"You were totally stalking me, by the way."

"I really DO have family members there, Elena." Elena raises her eyebrow at him.

"But, yes, I technically was stalking you."

"And you call my staring creepy. Stalking is creepier."

"Touche. But it's kinda romantic, right"?

"I still love you. Does that count"?

"Every. Single. Day."

"Stefan, it's 3 am. We have to be at school in 5 hours."

"We can be later."

"Not on the first day of school, Stefan."

"Well I guess we better get some sleep then."

Neither of them closes their eyes.

"You first," Stefan says.

"I don't want to miss a moment of this," Elena pouts.

Stefan kisses her chastely. "I'm right here. Sleep. We've still got 21 hours left in the day. Plus however many more you wanna spend with me."

She takes his hand. "A lot more. But I just want to live here for a second."

"I know what you mean. Sleep."

Elena allows the exhaustion of their very vigorously physical day to overtake her. She falls asleep in minutes.

6 am:  
>Elena is woken up by warm feather kisses on her face and the smell of French toast.<p>

And a slight hangover headache.

Her facial expressions follow that pattern: smile, bigger smile, hand on head followed by a wince.

"Good morning." He waits for her eyes to open. When they do, he can't help himself but to kiss her again. This time slightly deeper, slightly longer.

"Mmmm…good morning." Elena rises and leans on the headboard.

Stefan studies her and brings around what he had been hiding from her.

"Anniversary breakfast is now served." He's got the French toast she smelled and juice and a bottle of Aspirin.

She puts her hand on her heart as she looks at him, gratitude in her eyes. He nods back at her.

"Eat. 2 hours until the first day of school."

"You gonna have some of this? I can't eat it all."

"I'll have some of what you don't finish. I got up a little earlier to eat."

Cutting into her breakfast and taking the first bite: "Mmm…delicious Stefan. Best boyfriend ever."

They continue to talk and flirt and banter with each other.

"Are you finished? We need to get in the shower so we can get on the road."

"We?"

"Yeah, we. Water conservation, Elena. Unless you don't want to help the environment?"

She laughed. No matter how many times Stefan heard her laugh, it always felt brand new. It always soothed him. "Fine. But no dawdling."

"No dawdling."

45 minutes later…

"Stefan! It's 7 am. It's a 90 minute drive back to Mystic Falls. We're going to be late. Again."

"Not the way I drive. Besides, that was some quality dawdling."

Elena hectically putting on her shoes, looks up at him with a smirk. "It was. But we're still late. How did you finish getting dressed so quickly?"

Stefan points at himself. "Vampire."

The last thing they did as they shut the door on the lakehouse was turn on their phones. The text message beeps never came.

"Happy Anniversary," they said to each other. It could almost freak them both out how much they thought alike.

They kissed and parted to get in the car and drive back—at record speed—just in time to meet up with their friends outside the school's entrance.

Holding hands and standing shoulder to shoulder, they broke apart so Elena could stand between her two best friends and experience the first day of her senior year. She looked back at him and mouthed "I love you." He smiled as he always did when she told him that and mouthed right back, "Happy anniversary."  
>_<p>Stefan was startled awake by the dream. Holed up in a funeral home 15 miles outside of Mystic Falls, he had allowed himself the luxury of feeling angry that Katherine had persuaded him to let back in.

Apparently, other feelings came back as well.

The love was always there—he could feel it underneath him, compelling him to her, to watch her, to find her. To catch her.

But the missing her; the happiness; the pain of not being with her; the guilt of missing their anniversary (he knew what day it was—he just never said anything about it); it was all there too now.

First things first though: kill Klaus.

Elena gasped awake and sat straight up in her bed. She looked around her room and tried to reorient herself.

The dream so real, she looked to her side half expecting Stefan to be there.

She felt him inside her, she felt the love swell in her, she felt him there with her.

And yet, realizing that it was a dream and all that happened the night before—she let him go, she believed he had made his choice and left her forever—the sadness that led to her crying herself to sleep, re-emerged.

But there was also hope. A mustard seed amount of faith. And the love, the deep, unknowable, real love she felt for him also present.

She had no idea of Stefan's sacrifice.

She had no idea that he saved his brother again.

She had no idea he was back in the game.

She had no idea he remembered he loved her.

But she knew something was different. She felt it down deep.

And she wondered how she'd tell Damon she changed her mind.  
><br>A/N 3: I KNOW I totally pulled a "it was a dream" twisty thing! It came at me and I thought, why not. As always, feedback is appreciated.


End file.
